Various activities are realized in the 16+ Youth Day Care Centre

• Outreach work;
• Social and psychological consultations;
• Work with children and youths in crisis;
• Healthcare;
• Skills training and education;
• Advocacy;
• Groups for supporting young mothers and pregnant women;
• Youth committee program;
• Social-rehabilitation program;
• Hygiene activities;
• One hot meal a day;
• Programs developing skills like: gardening, cooking, pottery, sewing, music and sports;
• Activities for raising the qualification of the staff.

Faith, Hope and Love Center for Street Children

From January 2005 the Faith, Hope and Love Center for Street Children is under the direct jurisdiction of The Sofia Municipality and is named a Home for temporary accommodation for children aged between 3-18.

Since the Center opened its doors, some 800 street children have benefited for varying periods of time from its services. As a result of the team's efforts, about one third of them have been reunited with their families, about one third have been enrolled in appropriate educational facilities and have continued their education, some have returned to the street ...

During the years its activities and services were financed under programs of the European Commission, by the United States Embassy in Sofia as well as by many corporate and individual donors.
In the summer of 2001 the Center was refurbished thanks to a generous grant from the Cooperating Netherlands Foundation for Central and Eastern Europe. In 2003 we were able to expand upon this gift with the purchase of new furniture and equipment thanks to a grant from the Japanese Embassy in Sofia.

The team of the Center implements a variety of programs aimed at meeting the children's needs:
• Outreach work
• Health care
• General education
• Social rehabilitation
• Vocational training
• Social work with the families
• Administrative and legal services
• Development of creative abilities
• Entertainment programs
• Summer camp "Adrien Pochna"

Outreach work - The street is the place where the first contact between the Center's team and the child is established, relationship of trust and friendship that is the basis for all further programs of the Center is formed. The team of the Center is always aware of the situation in the street, because undoubtedly there exists constant contact between the children in the Center and those in the street. The team keeps in touch with the groups of people the children are most often in contact with - policemen, street-vendors, local inhabitants, shop and restaurant owners - making efforts to have a favorable influence on their attitude towards the children. In the course of outreach work the team provides the children with food, health assistance, clothes and counsel, endeavoring to get them back into the family or make them use the Center services.

Health care - The health program is implemented during the street work and after the child's admission to the Center. It includes establishment of the child's health status, giving first aid, assistance for specialized medical check-ups and, where necessary - for hospitalization. Educational courses are organized for formation of health and sexual culture, personal hygiene habits and prevention of drug use, STDs and HIV/AIDS.

General education - The street children are characterized by poor level of education and low motivation for getting educated. The program is aimed at assessing the literacy level and the educational needs of the children, as well as at developing learning disposition and motivation. The first step is work on restoration of the willingness to get back into the mainstream school education, with the Center organizing classes for overcoming the gaps in their education. Assistance is rendered for enrolling the children in appropriate schools (general or special), providing them with the needed school aids and materials. Children also have access to a specialized course in basic computer literacy, organized by the team with the help of external experts.

Social rehabilitation - Street life impedes the formation of a positive self-conception, leads to interpersonal relationship problems, to the formation of false perceptions about the structure and functions of society. The Center provides qualified psychological and social assistance for overcoming the above consequences. The daily routine is aimed at forming basic notions of social life, of understanding and learning moral norms, rules and values, interpersonal communication skills corresponding to the children's age, motivation for maintenance of a pro-social behavior.

Vocational training - Getting vocational training is vital for the successful future of street children. The Center provides vocational training of the children by their enrollment in vocational schools or qualification courses, or by organizing such courses in the Center.

Social work with the families - The child's reuniting with the family is undoubtedly the most favorable outcome for him or her. The work with the children's families includes clarification of the family situation with a view to select the most appropriate support opportunities, family consulting, directing parents towards vocational training programs, cooperation for getting medical attendance if necessary, administrative and legal assistance and services.

Administrative and legal services - The team of the Center helps the children with obtaining personal identity documents, enrolling in school, in their contacts with institutions.

Development of creative abilities - One of the most efficient methods for development of this program is by organizing courses in some of the most popular art fields - music, dancing, drawing, etc. Practice reveals that such programs attract permanently the children's attention and lead to achievement of very good results in tearing the children from street life and their integration into society.

Entertainment programs - The Center provides opportunities for reasonable spending of the children's spare time - sport and entertaining games, visits to puppet shows, cinema, theater, circus, museums, the zoo.

Summer camp "Adrien Pochna" - Each summer the Center organizes in the mountains a ten-day summer camp "Adrien Pochna", where the children take part in various educational games, contests and tournaments. The main focus of camp activities is on educating children on drug issues and drug prevention. The camp was set up in memory of prematurely diseased Adrien Pochna and is supported by his family and friends.

From December 2002 to September 2003 the Faith, Hope and Love Center participated in the development and implementation of a project, targeted to a new for Bulgaria form of childcare - the foster care. The project focused particularly on ensuring that street children have equal access to this new opportunity.

National Information Center

Established in 1997, the National Information Center on the Problems of Street Children in Bulgaria (NICOPOST) is a national data bank that collects and disseminates information on runaway, abandoned and homeless children from all over the country. A monthly newsletter as well as books and brochures dealing with the issue of the homeless and needy youth are distributed to over 400 academic, governmental and non-governmental institutions, social workers, members of parliament, etc.

NICOPOST regularly organizes national round table discussions on the Problems of Street Children in Bulgaria with participants from all over Bulgaria. Past topics, among others, have focused on childcare reform in Bulgaria and the new rights and duties of the state institutions, local authorities and NGOs concerning street children.